Yamaha APX 500 Electric Acoustic Guitar

Body Color

Black

Right Or Left Handed

Right-handed

Type

Acoustic/Electric

Great Value! Used-Excellent Condition Yamaha APX A Best Selling Favorite The Yamaha APX 500 is one of Yamaha’s all-time best sellers. Can’t believe it? Me neither! To be honest, I never heard of the APX 500 before I picked it up for this review. The APX series was in production for about 30 years, and Yamaha had plenty of time to sell as many of these acoustics as possible. This little guitar is very cool, and for around #250 is quite a bit of fun too play. It’s a thin-bodied acoustic/electric guitar and is a workhorse. The Overview Yamaha built the APX 500 using a spruce top with nato back & sides. It’s all laminate construction which explains the low low price. The body comes with a white binding on the top and sides. The neck is nato wood with a rosewood fingerboard featuring dot pearl inlays. The bridge is rosewood and comes with plastic pins that have dots. And the soundhole has a unique oval shape with a plastic protective ring. The ring has some nice looking inlays too. It also comes with a piezo style pickup with Yamaha’s 55T preamp system. Made for Electric Guitar Players When Yamaha designed the APX 500, the intent was to build an acoustic guitar that electric guitarists would fall in love with. When you pick up an APX 500, you’ll notice the thin acoustic body right away. In the playing position, this guitar molds to you and feels very comfortable. The neck has a thin profile which immediately feels good in your hands and is easy to play. A lot of guitars don’t play well or feel awkward, but not this one. The thin body gives it that electric guitar feel, especially so when it’s plugged into an amp. The headstock is fairly simple and the color is usually black or matches the color of the body. The tuners are closed-back, and I didn’t notice anything too special about them. Despite not being special, the tuners work, and this guitar stays in tune fairly well. A bonus, the compensated saddle does a decent job of keeping her intonated. How Does it Sound? What I found most interesting when researching this guitar is that lots of people say this is one of their favorite guitars! I kept thinking, “No way.” “I don’t believe it.” “You’re just saying that to boost your web traffic.” Here’s the verdict… I was not overly impressed with the guitar’s acoustic sound. The oval-shaped sound hole accentuates the mid-range frequencies. This could explain why so many guitarists, especially electric players, gravitate towards the Yamaha APX 500. I found that the bass notes don’t come through well, and the highs don’t seem to shimmer or sparkle as they do on other acoustic guitars. Those of you more accustomed to a dreadnaught will find this guitar sounds boxy and quiet. All that said, the sound is tight, controlled, and consistent. The plus for the Yamaha is, if you like the sound, it’s going to deliver. Time to Plug It In! Compare the acoustic sound to the APX 500 plugged in, and you’ll start to understand why so many guitarists rave about this guitar. The piezo pickup is bright and responsive and delivers a decent acoustic guitar tone. This guitar comes equipped with Yamaha’s System 55T preamp. The preamp gives you volume control, 3-band EQ, and a mid-range frequency slider. This system gives you the ability to have a lot of control over how the guitar sounds. There’s also a built-in tuner, which is super helpful when you need a quick tune-up. Take a listen to the guitar plugged in. I left the volume straight up at 5. The 3-band EQ flat, and the mid-range frequency slider in the middle. The goal was to record a middle of the road sound that could be adjusted to your liking.

Brand

Yamaha